Survivor XT905

XT905 - Everett Aero, Bentwaters airfield, Sussex

Phantom FGR.2 XT905 at North Luffenham, 24th January 2004; author

Seen here tucked away on the edge of a runway at what used to be RAF North Luffenham, XT905 was used for training MoD personnel in the disaraming of explosives - so you probably wouldn't want to risk sitting in her any more! She served with 17, 29, 31 and 74 Squadrons and also 228 OCU. XT905 suffered a nosewheel failure in 1981 and had to land without it, but after repairs was back in the air once more. She's now engineless and the outer portion of her starboard wing is also missing. Her flaps hang loose in the wind too. Her canopies were held shut by strops for some years but since this photo was taken she's lost her rear canopy and the cockpits are now pretty gutted. Other than that and some minor damage elsewhere, she appears to be fairly sound - certainly worthy of preservation once she ceases to be of use. As now seems to be the case with all of the remaining UK F-4s, she was disposed of to Everett Aero and moved to Bentwaters in May 2013. She'll no doubt be smartened up and offered at an eye-wateringly high price in due course.